Iraqi forces attack Camp Ashraf

Conferences

27 February 2012

This is a particularly difficult assignment for me, not only because I'm following these eminent individuals, but I've been used to having easy assignments. Will Rogers once said that the easiest job in the world is being the American Ambassador to Great Britain. He says, you only have to give one speech a year on July 4th, but leave the British with the impression that they really won. (Laughter.)

I never succeeded at this. But this is difficult for me in a very different reason. We're gathered at a time of heightened tensions, of course. Washington and Brussels have targeted Iran's oil exports and central bank.

We have seen just in this last week the developments that are not optimistic. But why this is difficult for me is something else. I feel very deeply about the issues that bring you and us here today.

And yet I'm neither in a position, nor was I invited, frankly, to speak and take a political position. I'm chairman of a company with 153,000 people in 108 countries and Lord knows there's no unanimous opinion that they share. So I hope you will respect the fact that I'm here because of the humanitarian interest in these issues.

Not to take a political stance. And yet I want to echo Mayor Daley. If, in fact, more of our fellow Americans, if more in the business community in all walks of life saw those photographs of Camp Liberty, they would recognize that circumstances have changed.

These issues may be humanitarian at base but they, of course, have enormous geopolitical consequence. So I want to encourage you in gatherings like this around the country to let more people understand how these circumstances have changed and the realities today in Iran. I've listened carefully. I've noted carefully over recent months the remarks of Senators Curry and Levin and Senator Graham, Congressman Sherman.

I've been fascinated to follow several remarks by General Jones and military leaders in this regard, individuals whom I know, worked and respect. I'm certainly aware of the D.C. Circuit Court's judicial opinion and alarmed in much of the ways it's been discussed. In fact, I can almost hear the laughter as it's been represented to me of Secretary Clinton when it was explained to her that on the principal concern to you that's probably the only issue in which Howard Dean and John Bolton agree. But I want to underscore from my past work with them.

I have enormous confidence in the integrity and the judgment of Secretary Clinton and Secretary Panetta.

I only hope that what we are discussing and what we are learning today is more broadly understood by their staffs, by them and by the nation at large. Why do I say circumstances have changed? If one sees the representations and reality of Camp Liberty, it's not simply the moving tribute, if you will, of a book with thousands of photographs as the reality of these 3,400 lives today. So it's encouraging to me to see amongst you today clerical collars and individuals who come for reasons driven not by shared politics, but because of concern of the families and individuals involved. The overarching issue, of course, is how do we talk down Iran's nuclear missions.

But the more immediate and more urgent question is the future of 3,400 lives.

What I do as just a citizen and as a businessman is to say that the breakdown and what is likely to come from emergent of further hard-line thoughts in Tehran do not augur well. If, in fact, we are going to move forward in whatever way, what is essential as Mayor Daley said is that there's a deeper and broader understanding of the reality of what is facing those individuals.

So I come today, in as muted a tone as one needs to be in my role as chairman of a large global publicly held company to simply say, all partisanship aside, it is urgent that there be a greater and deeper focus on the future of these individuals.

For the opportunity to encourage you to get that word out more broadly and for what I've learned here today, I thank you very much. (Applause.)